Click. “Good evening, Mr. Howard.” “Good evening, Samantha.” The sounds of a rustling coat being shrugged off and the tapping of Mr. Howard’s shoes echoed down the hallway. Mr. Howard walked into the living room, and saw his niece, Victoria, gazing out the window at the sunset, her rosy-colored dress pooling around her. “I’m back from my meeting with the Reillys,” he said gruffly. “And we’ve decided on a marriage.” Victoria turns, her green eyes icy. “What?” “Yes we decided you and Samuel would be a good match.” Mr. Howard looked on steadily at the child he had taken in when she was a toddler after her parents had died of a disease. It had been quite bothersome for him to raise her in southern New York. Their views and personalities clashed and could never agree on anything. He was a strict, rule-abiding and enforcing businessman who focused on what was financially most beneficial, whereas she was a romantic, whose beliefs were unorthodox and spiritual. She believed in the ethics of the romances she read.

“I refuse,” she stated bluntly. “What about him do you refuse? He has good social standing, class, a secure network, good income, and a secure financial position! You couldn’t do any better!” “Please,” she scoffs. “He is a vulgar man with no morals, no sense of the rules, no responsibility for any of his actions, and is so condescending he has become blind to the people of the public. Just last month he was out with a few of his friends and returned home with no wallet and half his clothes!” “So he’s a bit… out there. What kind of person would you choose: A beggar on the streets? A lowly artist in a theatre who can barely make enough money to feed himself?” “Before marriage I would first seek love. To a beggar or an artist I would never succumb, but to a condescending idiot like Samuel Reilly I wouldn’t either.” “Stupid girl,” he scolds. “To what will she become?” “Never to the altar with Samuel Reilly!” “Take care, take care!” “Scrupulous care I will take, Uncle! Do not speak to me of this subject again!” She storms out of the house, slamming the door behind her.

An hour later, Victoria sat with her friend Annabelle, sipping a cup of tea. “So what do you think?” “Well… I feel that you should consider the option.” “What?” Victoria sputters. “You’ve heard the stories too.” “Yes, but you should at least get to know him. I heard the Bartons are having a party tonight, and the Reillys are going. We could try talking to him there.” Victoria glares, and then nods. After changing, the girls head to the Bartons’. The first people they see are Samuel’s two younger brothers. They treat Annabelle and Victoria kindly, Victoria a little less because they had overheard their father’s conversation with Mr. Howard. “If his brothers are so kind Samuel surely can’t be that rude, can he?” They sit down for a drink, and chat with Annabelle’s second cousin, Rachael, and her friend Claire. “Excuse me.” The girls look up. “May I steal Victoria for a minute?” Victoria stares up in horror at the man she so stubbornly refused to marry. She eyed his brothers who stood a few feet away, watching. “Fine.”

“So I’m assuming Mr. Howard told you of the situation?” “Yes. I’ve voiced my opinions.” Samuel stood stiff as a board, face straight and brows creased. “Well…. I’d have to say I’m not so enthusiastic either. I actually have my eyes set on someone else…” “Oh. That’s nice. Well, I guess I’ll just be going then.” Victoria turned away, heart pounding and red faced, grabbed Annabelle, and muttered, “We have to leave. Now.” The girls strode out of the house and towards the carriage waiting outside.

Inside, Annabelle asked, “So what happened?” “He doesn’t want it either.” “Oh. Well then you can just tell your uncle that and then the whole thing will be solved.” “I suppose.” Victoria stared out at the inky black night outside the window. The carriage dropped Victoria at her house, and then drove away towards Annabelle’s home. Victoria walked up the steps and through the door, careful to close it quietly, in case anyone was sleeping. She walked down the main hall to the living room to hang her coat, to see her uncle, sitting in a chair by the curtains under a dim lamp. “Hello, Victoria.” “Hi,” she muttered, brows creased. “Have you reconsidered your decision?” “Yes. But that does not mean I have changed it.” “What? You insolent girl! This is for your bene-” “It is not beneficial if the two to be married both do not agree to the proposal. He has eyes for someone else, and I am waiting for someone else.” Mr. Howard stared in shock, his round face ovular in order to extend his jaw. “He what? Arthur Reilly did not speak a word of this to me!” “Perhaps Samuel didn’t tell him, because like us, his family struggles to agree as well.” Victoria had sat herself on the couch opposite of Mr. Howard’s chair, and her expression was grim, but defeat was not to be found on her face. “For once, we may agree on something. If this is the case, and Samuel Reilly will not want to benefit you in any way, then we may dispel the idea. Go to bed, and we will speak to the Reillys’ tomorrow.”

The next day, Victoria rose early, took care of any remaining schoolwork from her university, and left the house minutes after Mr. Howard had left for work. She rode her carriage to the Reilly estate, and caught a glimpse of Samuel through a window of the house. When she knocked on the door, the maid immediately let her in in a shocked and intimidated manner, because she too had been there when Mr. Howard and Mr. Reilly had their meeting. She had been serving tea, and as soon as she heard of the proposal, she thought of the young master, who she had seen staring at that redheaded girl. The maid hurried to fetch the head of the household after seating Victoria at the table with a cup of tea. “Victoria Cooper. What business do you have here?” Mr. Reilly was a large, muscular man like his sons, who had an aura of power and command. “I need to speak with you about the arrangement you made with my uncle. I refuse to marry your son.” “And why is that? Do you find yourself to be too good for him? Is he not of your ‘taste’? Or are you just a stupid little girl who doesn’t know when to-” He was interrupted by loud banging on the front door. The maid rushed to the entrance, and Mr. Howard bursted through the threshold. “You will not, I repeat now, say such rude things to my niece! I apologize for going back on what I said but I was wrong. This was a bad idea. Your son doesn’t like it either. I hope this won’t affect whatever business we may do later, but we must be going. Good day.” And with this, Mr. Howard rushed Victoria out the door, Mr. Reilly screaming behind them.

“Thanks,” Victoria muttered. “It’s quite alright. He was a bothersome man anyways. Perhaps because of this we will be able to agree on more things from now on. It was nice working with you for once.” A small smile appeared on Victoria’s lips. “You too.”

Months later, Victoria had finished her classes at university, Mr. Howard had received a new contract with another business in New York, and Samuel had gotten married. Not to Victoria, but to Rachael, Annabelle’s cousin, who had been the girl he had eyes for at the time of the party. The wedding had been a big affair, with extravagance and elegance. Mr. Reilly had been very satisfied with the marriage, because Samuel was happy and Rachael’s parents worked in the same industry as the Reillys. Victoria, at her university, had met someone. Not an artist or beggar like her uncle had predicted, but a respected businessman who, like Victoria, had unorthodox ideals. Mr. Howard was not aware of the relationship yet, but that’s a story for another time.